COLLEGE STATION, Texas— All nine LSU divers have qualified for NCAA Zone ‘D’ Regional and are looking to qualify for NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships March 7-9 at the Student Recreation Natatorium on the Texas A&M campus.
“Everything we do all year long is for this competition and the national championship,” LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer said. “Our preparation has been good all year and we look good. The competition is strong, but I believe that we are prepared to qualify for NCAA’s.”
At the 2016 Southeastern Conference Swimming and Diving Championships, three divers moved on to the finals of events. Senior Cassie Weil leads the way as the veteran of the group. Weil won silver on three-meter with a score of 372.55 at her final conference meet.
Last season, Weil qualified for NCAA Championships on three-meter and platform. The Oregon native finished with NCAA Honorable Mention All-America honors on three-meter, the fifth All-America honors of her career.
Sophomore Madison Sthamann is looking for her second NCAA appearance. Sthamann became the program’s 12th All-American on platform after competing in the consolation final last season.
Freshman Lizzie Cui carries her international experience into College Station. Most recently, Cui competed at the FINA Diving World Cup in Rio de Janeiro in mid-February. The Auckland, New Zealand native finished 27th overall in prelims of three-meter.
The male divers head to Zones with just one year of postseason experience between the three. Junior Andrew Suchla competed at the qualifier last year. Suchla moved on to the final of one-meter and three-meter where he finished 13th and 14th respectively.
Freshmen Matthew Phillip and Matt McClellan scored for the Tigers at their first SEC Championships. Phillip’s strongest performance came on platform when the Plano, Texas native finished sixth in the finals. Phillip’s score of 360.05 in prelims was enough for fourth on LSU’s top score list. McClellan just narrowly missed the final of one-meter with a score of 318.70 for an eighth-place finish in prelims.
The first day of competition begins Monday with the women’s one-meter springboard at 11 a.m. and the men’s three-meter springboard at 5:45 p.m. Finals begin 15 minutes after the prelims.
The Zone ‘D’ region consists of divers from LSU, Minnesota, SMU, Missouri, Texas A&M, Houston, Nebraska, Iowa State, TCU, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, Northern Iowa, Texas, Arkansas, South Dakota State, and Tulane.
Live results of the three-day qualifier will be available on divemeets.com
A full recap will be available on lsusports.net at the conclusion of each day. For more information and updates on LSU Swimming and Diving please visit LSUsports.net, ‘like’ us on Facebook at LSU Swimming and Diving or follow us on Twitter @LSUswimdive.
Schedule Of Events:
Monday, March 6
11 a.m. Women’s 1-meter
5:45 p.m. Men’s 3-meter
Tuesday, March 7
11 a.m. Women’s 3-meter
5:45 p.m. Men’s 1-meter
Wednesday, March 8
11 a.m. Women’s Platform
3 p.m. Men’s Platform
*15 minutes will be allotted between preliminaries and finals